


Your Love Will Anchor Me

by notafamousperson



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Childhood Memories, Literal Sleeping Together, M/M, Mates, POV Derek, Past Kate Argent/Derek Hale, Pining Derek
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-10-28
Updated: 2014-10-28
Packaged: 2018-02-22 23:14:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,881
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2525288
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/notafamousperson/pseuds/notafamousperson
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>He was a loud, awkward kid with a mouth that moved a mile a minute, and he wouldn't leave Derek alone. Which was confusing, seeing as Derek was a murder suspect. No matter how hard he tried though, he couldn't scare Stiles away. And boy, did he try.</p><p>(Once, there was a wolf who fell in love with a human.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	Your Love Will Anchor Me

His Aunt Ruth used to tell the story to him whenever she would visit. Derek didn't remember much of his childhood, but he'd never forget listening to that story, wonder and hope filling him to the brim until he could barely breathe around it.

He remembered curling up in Aunt Ruth's lap, breathing in her scent and nosing at her clothes as she told it to him. She always smelled earthy and fresh like the forest, her voice smooth like flowing water.

_Once, there was a wolf who fell in love with a human._

She would tell him the story, and he would sit still and listen through the whole thing, not once interrupting her. She would stroke his hair and rock him as she talked, slowly lulling him to sleep, though he never fell asleep until she got to the ending. He would have dreams about the story; him being the wolf, but the human remained faceless. He asked Aunt Ruth how he would know when he found his mate. She told him that he would feel it in every sense that he has, know it with every thought in his head.

He later tried to imagine Kate as his human when he first started dating her. He tried to feel it as he ran his hands over her skin, tried to see her as his and him as hers, tried to smell the sweet scent of mate without knowing what it was supposed to smell like. He tried to taste it in her kisses, and he tried to hear it in her voice, but it never felt right.

He didn't realize until later why it never fit.

_The human loved the wolf, and he told his father that he was hunting the wolf so they wouldn't be separated._

When he first met Stiles and Scott in the woods, he felt nothing special towards them. Slight annoyance, maybe. Then, when Stiles told his father, the _sheriff_ , that he murdered someone, that someone being his _own sister_ , that annoyance grew marginally. Stiles was frustrating.

He was a loud, awkward kid with a mouth that moved a mile a minute, and he _wouldn't leave Derek alone_. Which was confusing, seeing as Derek was a murder suspect. No matter how hard he tried though, he couldn't scare Stiles away. And boy, did he try.

Stiles was undoubtedly scared of him, but that didn't stop him from coming near him whenever he could. Just as he was beginning to accept his fate of having to deal with irritating teenagers that wouldn't accept his knowledge of werewolves that didn't come from Wikipedia, they almost got themselves killed by his uncle. His Uncle Peter, who was in a coma. Or, he _was_  in a coma, then he became Derek's alpha after he killed Laura. Derek saved Stiles, but Peter beat the shit out of him in the process.

And when Derek was shot with a bullet laced with wolfsbane, Stiles couldn't even cut off his arm. He couldn't handle the sight of blood, and he was panicking more than Derek was himself, even though he wasn't the one that was about to lose an arm. Stiles was fragile; Derek could've easily snapped his neck, and he made sure that Stiles knew it whenever he made a snarky comment. It didn't stop him from making snarky comments.

He was _extremely_  frustrating.

_Every day, the human came to see him. He would sit next to the wolf and watch the sky and trees until night fell,_

Yet, Derek realized one day with a start, he was beginning to _enjoy_  his company. Stiles annoyed him, yes, but he was starting to like it when Stiles made a dumb dog joke in a failed attempt to cover up the speed of his heartbeat and the anxiety radiating off of him nearly constantly when he was near Derek. He liked it when Stiles argued with him, liked the way his cheeks colored in frustration when Derek got a rise out of him.

But most of all, Derek _really_  liked Stiles' scent.

Which, admittedly, was _really fucking weird_ , but Stiles smelled sweet, like honey, and warm sage, and toffee, and for some reason, home. Not in the physical aspect, but in that Derek could see himself going to Stiles when he had nowhere else to go. Derek still hadn't worked that one out. He was almost embarrassed by how happy he was when he realized that Stiles' scent was starting to stick to him, because then he could smell his scent and Stiles' scent together. And if he thought that Stiles alone smelled good, then their scents mixed together was enough to have him purring in delight.

_and then the wolf hunted under the moonlight._

It was stupid. How he could feel nothing but barely there tolerance towards Stiles one day, then get drunk on his scent the next. Derek tried not to think about it, tried to ignore the warmth that rushed through him when Stiles was around, and ended up thinking about it even more. It was hard to ignore it when it felt so good, is the problem.

On full moons, the urge to push Stiles up against a wall and rub his scent all over him was _unbearable_. More so than a normal day. Derek resorted to shifting into beta form and running in the woods for hours, until the sun began to come up and he regained some semblance of control.

Of course, just because Stiles smelled like the sweetest, most intoxicating thing Derek had ever breathed, he wasn't going to say that he had feelings for him. And if he did, it wouldn't matter, because Stiles obviously loved Lydia. Derek definitely was _not_  disappointed.

And he most definitely wasn't relieved when Lydia didn't reciprocate, latching onto Jackson instead. He didn't think, _you have no idea what you're missing_ , because he didn't like Stiles. Not at all.

Stiles' scent brought forth another problem, however. No matter how much Derek convinced himself that he didn't like Stiles, his wolf clearly didn't get the memo. Whenever Stiles was around, he felt a surge of _want_ , of _possessiveness_ , and he fought the urge - no, the _need_  to grab Stiles and push him against a wall and whisper _mine_  into the shell of his ear, to cover the pale expanse of Stiles' neck with nips and licks and–

But that was inappropriate, and definitely not accurate. Derek didn't _really_  want to do those things to Stiles, he couldn't. Could he? No. Absolutely not. He wouldn't even allow himself to think about that.

He was the _sheriff's son_ , for gods sakes. The Sheriff would most likely not be pleased to find out that Derek Hale, accused murderer, had feelings for his son. His underaged son.

God, Derek was worse than Kate. How many times had he threatened him, thrown him up against a wall? Even if Stiles wasn't scared of him, verbal and physical threats didn't exactly scream out,  _I like you_. Stiles probably didn't even like Derek, probably didn't even consider him a friend.

Derek told himself that he imagined the hurt on Stiles' face when Stiles was holding him up in the pool, and he told him that they didn't trust each other.

_The human's father found out, and forced him to kill the wolf. The human told the wolf to run, but the wolf loved the human so much that he couldn't bear the thought of leaving him._

Sheriff Stilinski took the "werewolves are real" talk much better than Derek was expecting. He didn't seen angry or scared, didn't distance himself from Scott, he was mostly just confused about the whole thing. Derek was extremely relieved to find this out, then embarrassed when he realized why he was so relieved. He wouldn't ever be dating his son, so there was no real point in his relief.

...But it would be so _easy_. There wouldn't have to be a big lycanthropy reveal, he wouldn't have to make sure that he was _the one_. Because Stiles already knew everything, and to some degree, he understood Derek's loss, but he didn't pity him.

Derek sometimes accidentally found himself fantasizing about Stiles during the day. Nothing sexual, just Stiles doing things with him throughout the day. It was weird how easy it was to see him and Stiles together, how easily Stiles fit into his life.

He even started to have dreams about Stiles, some good, some bad. The bad dreams always had him waking up in a cold sweat, with ripped sheets where his claws had slashed through them. In most of the bad ones, Stiles was kidnapped, and Derek was trying to save him, but there was mountain ash around the building he was trapped in. He could hear Stiles screaming for help, screaming for _Derek_ , but he couldn't find a way to get in. He never stayed asleep past that point.

_The wolf asked the moon to turn him into a human, so that he could be with his love. The moon told the wolf that he could be turned human, but it would come at a price. The wolf said that he would do anything to be human, and accepted the deal._

He didn't realize it until the next full moon comes, and he has to fight for control.

His anchor was no longer anger. He couldn't ground himself using anger, or fear, or sorrow. He struggled with himself, trying desperately to connect to his human side, but it was a losing battle. The loft was a wreck, broken furniture and shredded fabric surrounding him when he spotted the hoodie that Stiles left at the loft the last time they had a meeting. It was folded up and sitting on the coffee table, and Stiles' scent clung to it. His scent that was home, and happiness, and peace, and calm, and just so... _Stiles_.

Derek grabbed the hoodie and smashed it against his face. Breathing in deeply and feeling his teeth retract, Derek fell back onto the broken couch. He fell asleep with it still resting over his face.

He realized the next day, while he ordered new furniture, that Stiles was his anchor.

_The moon turned the wolf into a human, and he found his love in the village. His love was happy to see him, and introduced him to the entire village, where the wolf lived the next few weeks peacefully._

One day, Stiles told Derek that he and Scott were drifting apart, that Lydia was caught up with college applications and trying to use her newfound banshee powers, and no one else had time to hang out with him. Derek listened, and when Stiles finished, he told him that he could come over whenever he wanted. Stiles began to come to the loft after school every day and on weekends after that.

They watched movies together, Derek ordered takeout, Stiles did his homework at Derek's table, and soon the whole loft smelled like his and Stiles' scents combined; sweet and spicy mixing together and making Derek's toes curl in pleasure.

Stiles asked Derek if he could spend the night with him because his dad was going out of town for a conference, and he didn't want to be home alone, with all that had been going on lately. Derek said yes, and on Saturday night, Stiles came over with an overnight bag and a greasy paper bag full of burgers and curly fries.

Derek put in Fight Club, and they ate the food that Stiles brought, Stiles joking that this would have to be Derek's cheat day. Stiles nodded off towards the end of the movie, and when Derek tried to wake him, he mumbled incoherently and slid over the armrest. Derek thought about lifting him up, wondering if Stiles would protest to it, but he had no choice when Stiles rolled off of the couch. Derek caught him before he hit the ground, then deposited him on his bed and took off his shoes.

He was walking towards the couch to lay down when Stiles slurred out his name. He hesitantly walked back over to him, and Stiles dragged him down into the bed. Derek only protested for a minute before Stiles clumsily placed a hand over his mouth with his eyes still closed, only removing it when Derek didn't try to say anything else.

He woke up with his arm wrapped around Stiles' waist, and soft hair tickling his chin. He got out of bed before Stiles woke up and didn't say anything when he walked into the kitchen with blurry eyes and sleep-tousled hair, even though he could still feel Stiles' body against his, even though it felt so _right_  to have their bodies pressed together.

His bed smelled like Stiles for weeks afterwards, no matter how many times he washed the sheets.

_The animal inside of him stayed dormant for a month. Then, the full moon came. (Derek always held his breath at this part, even when he knew how the story ended.)_

He had the dream. He was sat on a cliff, and Stiles sat next to him, stroking his fur absentmindedly. He leaned into the touch and Stiles smiled at him, told him to shift back so they could have some fun together.

Derek woke up with a start, a thin layer of sweat sticking uncomfortably to his skin. He made himself some coffee, and he sat on the couch and focused on its bitter taste on his tongue instead of what the dream meant. He didn't fall back asleep that night, and when Stiles came over, he told Derek that he looked terrible. Then, after some questioning, Stiles sent him to bed, and Derek didn't protest, too exhausted.

When he woke up this time, Stiles was laying half on top of Derek, his face resting on Derek's chest. Derek went back to sleep.

They didn't talk about Stiles sleeping on top of Derek the next day, so he assumed that it didn't mean anything. Even though he spent almost every waking moment thinking about it, and a good half of his dreams were dedicated to Stiles.

_As hard as he tried, he could not fight back the animal inside of him when the moon was at its peak. The moonlight hit his skin and he painfully shifted into his wolf form._

It was amazing how the very thing that anchored you to humanity could also fuel the animalistic rage that set your wolf free. Anger was a confusing anchor to have, because the outcome of his rage could differ so extremely.

This, though, was completely different. A rogue unicorn threatened to trample Stiles, and the only thing that Derek could think was _protectprotectprotect_ , until he was covered in the unicorn's blood and Stiles was telling him to _calm down_ , because he was _okay, seriously_.

Scott, who Derek had been teaching to control his senses, looked at Derek with surprise and confusion clear on his face. Because, of course, Scott knew. Derek couldn't bring himself to care, and he glared at him until he looked away, shaking his head.

Stiles looked between the two of them, apparently deciding if it was worth it to ask. He, thankfully, decided that it wasn't.

_He ran outside and told the moon that her spell wore off, but she said that it worked perfectly fine. This was the price; to spend the rest of his life as a human, he had to shift back into his true form once a month, on the full moon._

Stiles came over after school one day, fidgety and anxious. He opened his mouth to say something a few times throughout the night, then snapped it shut and turned away. Finally, Derek had had enough of it, and he grabbed his face and turned it towards him. Stiles' eyes widened and Derek asked him what was wrong.

Stiles didn't say anything for a while, biting his lip, and Derek realized that he was still holding his face. He quickly released it and put his hand in his lap, never looking away from Stiles all the while. He and Stiles sat there, staring, until finally, Stiles awkwardly cleared his throat and looked away bashfully. He stuttered over his words for a minute, then quit talking altogether. It was the first time that Derek had ever seen Stiles not know what to say.

Derek could hear Stiles' heartbeat picking up, and he could smell how nervous he was. Then, Stiles quickly lunged towards Derek and grabbed his face. Derek instinctually grabbed his wrist, and Stiles stopped right in front of his mouth, short puffs of air brushing his lips.

They stared at each other for what felt like seconds and hours all at once, then their lips were crashing together, and Derek wasn't sure who moved first, but he didn't care, because he was kissing _Stiles_ , and he tasted wonderful, and if he never stopped kissing him it wouldn't be enough. Stiles moved his hands from Derek's face, one moving to the back of his head and grabbing a fistful of hair, the other moving to his back.

Then suddenly, Stiles pushed back and scooted backwards until he almost fell off the couch, scrubbing his mouth. Derek watched in shock as he grabbed his bag and ran to the door. He called out to him, begged him to stop, but Stiles quickly apologized and then he was gone.

Naturally, Derek should have been angry. Oh, he should've been so, so _angry_. He knew now that Stiles must have felt the same way that Derek felt about Stiles, there must have been something there, or else he wouldn't have kissed him. So why _did_  he kiss him, then just leave? Derek let out a shuddering breath, feeling his eyes begin to water. He leaned forward and put his head in his hands, rubbing his eyes aggressively, so as not to let any tears fall.

They fell anyways.

_The wolf knew that the villagers would find out about the shifts, so he tried to anchor himself to his human form each full moon. It didn't work the first time he tried, and the wolf was distraught. How could he spend the rest of his life with the human if he couldn't be a human as well?_

Three days passed before Derek heard from Stiles. He sent him a text, telling him that the kiss was a mistake. Derek read the message over and over, feeling a dull ache build behind his heart. After a few minutes, he texted back, saying that if that was how he felt, then he understood and he'd put his own feelings aside so they could hopefully still be friends. Stiles texted him back, soon after he pressed send, saying that he was coming over, and he didn't mean it like that. How else could he have meant it? If a kiss was a mistake, then it was a mistake.

Stiles showed up at the loft twenty minutes after sending the text, and Derek opened the door before he had the chance to knock. He looked nervous, and Derek couldn't bring himself to build up any anger towards him. He felt drained, like his sorrow sucked away all of his energy, and he couldn't feel anything else.

He moved to the side, and Stiles silently stepped in. He mumbled to himself for a few minutes, seemingly putting his thoughts together, and Derek watched on, trying his hardest not to be amused. It was hard when Stiles did things like this, having a full on conversation with himself, equipped with hand gestures and everything.

Then, Stiles looked up at Derek. He took a deep breath, then explained that he was going to tell him, then he accidentally-on-purpose kissed him, and he did it wrong, and he was frustrated because he had a whole speech planned out, and he was kind of maybe in love with him, and he thought that maybe Derek felt the same way but he wasn't totally sure even though he was pretty enthusiastic about the kiss.

As soon as Stiles stopped talking, Derek gently pulled him in close, feeling peace and happiness wash over him as he breathed Stiles in, replacing the sadness that had made a new home in him. He kissed Stiles, a light brush of lips, and he told him that he loved him too, that he'd loved him for a while. Stiles smiled into the kiss.

_The human sensed that the wolf was upset, and when the next full moon came, the human sat with the wolf and held his hand as he fought the change. When claws grew out of the wolf's skin and beads of blood began to form on the human's palm, he gripped tighter. The wolf focused on the love he felt for the human, and he returned to his human form before he was fully turned._

The nights that followed went much like before, except when Derek got the urge to grab Stiles and pull him in close, he did. When he felt like he needed to tell him that he loved him, he did. When he wanted to press soft kisses down his neck, he did.

Stiles said that the Sheriff was getting suspicious as to why he was always at Derek's house, and he asked if it was okay to tell him. Derek _didn't_  want to do that, because what if he decided that Stiles couldn't date him? Or talk to him? What if he arrested him? Stiles reassured him that he wouldn't let anything happen, though, so Derek begrudgingly agreed.

The Sheriff took it better than Derek thought he would. He lectured the both of them for an hour, gave Stiles a curfew, and he was no longer allowed to spend the night, but he didn't tell him that they couldn't date, that Stiles was too young for him, and he didn't arrest him. The Sheriff could obviously tell that Derek was confused, so he took him aside and explained to him that he knew Derek knew what it was like to be in a relationship with someone a few years older, but he also knew that Derek would never take advantage of Stiles like that.

Stiles smiled at him, bright and joyful, and Derek found himself softly smiling back.

_Every full moon after that, the human held the wolf as he fought the change, until he no longer needed to be held to anchor himself to his love_

Stiles was his mate, Derek was certain of it. He could feel it when Stiles walked by him and their fingers brushed together.

He tasted it when they kissed, when Stiles pressed his mouth on Derek's and he forgot how to breathe.

He could hear it in his voice and in his heartbeat, both steady and grounding, always what he needed to soothe his wolf.

He could smell it from a mile away, the sweet scent that reminded him of safety, and love, and affection, and home.

He could see it when his eyes were open, could see it when his eyes were closed; he was the wolf, and Stiles was his love, his human.

**Author's Note:**

> Feel free to point out any errors and mistakes! Thanks for reading!


End file.
